Taiwan’s jailed ex-leader Chen Shui-bian has ‘severe depression’

Taiwan’s jailed ex-president Chen Shui-bian is suffering from “severe” depression and requires psychiatric treatment, a hospital said on Thursday.

Chen was convicted of bribery in 2009 and is serving a prison term of 17 years and six months, while facing several additional graft charges stemming from his time as president between 2000 and 2008.

The 61-year-old was treated in a hospital near his prison last month after he developed urinal problems and was later transferred to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital for a comprehensive check-up, authorities said.

“Chen is diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety disorder, both of which have become chronic,” the hospital said in a statement without elabourating. It recommended further treatment at a specialised hospital.

Chen has also developed stuttering which might be linked to mental illness or a degeneration of his brain as well as problems with his prostate and sleep apnoea – a sleep disorder characterised by abnormal breathing – the hospital said.

The ex-leader sought medical parole earlier this year when he was diagnosed with a narrowing of his coronary arteries, but the justice ministry denied it on the ground that he could get proper treatment in prison.